The export sector reported a 22.5 percent shrinkage in May 2020 to a 4-year-low of 16 billion U.S. dollars, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the global economy.

“The export value in May was recorded at 16.28 billion U.S. dollars, down by 22.50 percent year-on-year, and the import value was at 13.58 billion U.S. dollars, down by 34.41 percent,” said Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the commerce ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO).

Overall Thai export during January to May 2020 totaled 97.899 billion U.S. dollars, down 3.71 percent year on year, while import was at 88.808 billion U.S. dollars, falling 11.64 percent year on year, leaving a trade surplus of 9.0906 billion U.S. dollars for the first five months, the TPSO report said.

The Bank of Thailand worsened the export contraction outlook for 2020 to 10.3% from 8.8% previously forecast, while lowering foreign tourist arrival numbers from 15 million to 8 million this year.

About the author

Thailand Business News covers the latest economic, market, investment, real-estate and financial news from Thailand and Asean. It also features topics such as tourism, stocks, banking, aviation, property, and more.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You May Also Like

Can Indonesia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Attract Foreign Investors?

The government hopes the INA will attract investments in infrastructure, the digital economy, logistics, the financial sector, tourism, and supply chains, among others.

Bank of Thailand lowers 2023 GDP forecast from 3.6% to 2.8%

The Thai economy is recovering, although at a slower pace due to weak external demand.

Thai exports to expand by 1.2% in 2023 (SCB EIC)

Thai merchandise exports contracted in February, marking a fifth consecutive month decline. However, signs of recovery started to emerge.